Processed material of bean curd refuse and method for the preparation thereof

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a processed material of bean curd refuse, comprising a highly viscous liquid containing cut bean curd refuse fibers and water-soluble polysaccharides released from bean curd refuse.

FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL UTILIZATION

The present invention relates to a processed material of bean curdrefuse (Okara in Japanese), a method of the preparation thereof, and amethod of the preparation of a food containing the processed material ofbean curd refuse.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

Conventionally, part of bean curd refuse has been used for food, andpart of it has been used as livestock feed and a fertilizer. However,the percentage of its use is small. Further, it goes rotten very easily,and its water content is high (about 80%). For these reasons, bean curdrefuse is mostly disposed of as an industrial refuse.

However, from the viewpoint of the science of nutrition, bean curdrefuse itself contains 25% of protein, 15% of fats and 50% of avegetable fiber, and it is too resourceful to dispose of bean curdrefuse as an industrial refuse. Therefore, studies for advanced usethereof, particularly studies for the application thereof to foods areunder way.

Raw bean curd refuse has been so far used as a filler by incorporatingit into food materials as it is when some foods are prepared. Since,however, bean curd refuse particles scarcely have flexibility in spiteof their high water content, bean curd refuse gives only foods having arough and poor taste even when a small amount thereof is incorporatedinto other food materials.

For utilizing bean curd refuse as a food material, there is knownanother method in which bean curd refuse is once dried and then finelypulverized and the resultant dry powder is incorporated into a foodmaterial. Since, however, water contained in bean curd refuse is presentas very strongly bonded water, a high temperature is required for dryingthe bean curd refuse, and the dried bean curd refuse mass turnsbrownish. Further, the so-obtained bean curd refuse mass has a very hardhardness, and it is difficult to pulverize it into particles in theorder of microns. Moreover, this dry bean curd refuse powder has poorhydration properties even if it is a finely pulverized powder.Therefore, it is poor in wettability even if mixed with water, and it isdifficult to obtain a homogeneous mixture even if a small amount of itis mixed with another food. The resultant food still gives the sense ofroughness to the tongue and has poor taste. In short, the problem of thebean curd refuse powder is that its preparation is not easy and requiresa large cost, and that it can be only applied to limited use as a foodmaterial.

For improving bean curd refuse in the pleasantness to the tongue and thetaste, there is proposed a method in which bean curd refuse is directlymilled in its hydrous state without adding water, to prepare a slurry offine particles having a diameter of 100 microns or less, and the slurryis directly added to a raw material for a processed food(JP-B-61-50578). However, when an attempt is made to pulverize raw beancurd refuse into fine particles having a diameter of 100 microns or lesswith a general finely pulverizing apparatus, the raw bean curd refusegreatly generates heat, and the processed bean curd refuse rather showsa decreased hydration power.

For avoiding the above problems even slightly, there is concurrentlyproposed a method in which bean curd refuse is once frozen and thentreated in the same manner. In this method, however, it is required topulverize bean curd refuse exhausted at a high temperature (about 80°C.) after it is once frozen, and then finely mill it. This method istherefore not only poor in workability but also requires an additionalcost.

For overcoming the above problems, there is proposed a method in whichwater is added to bean curd refuse, the bean curd refuse is ground witha grinder with an intentional smaller clearance while it generates heat,added water is evaporated to prepare a finely ground material having awater content equivalent to, or smaller than, that of bean curd refuse,and the finely ground material is refrigerated (JP-A-4-190753). However,in this case, bean curd refuse is treated while it generates heat, andthen treated so that the water content decreases. Therefore, theresultant processed material has a low water content, and has theproperty of retaining its form. When mixed with other food material, theprocessed material of bean curd refuse decreases the viscosity of themixture since it has a low viscous nature itself, and its use islimited. Further, when refrigerated, this processed material shows agreatly decreased viscosity and gets dry, and its use is furtherlimited.

Further, all of the above methods of decreasing the size of the beancurd refuse particles (into about 100 microns or less) inevitably have adefect in that a product is deteriorated in quality since an apparatussuffers large mechanical wear so that the product often includes grinderpowders, etc., derived from the apparatus.

In the above methods of processing bean curd refuse by fine milling,even if bean curd refuse particles are finely milled, the bean curdrefuse particles contain bean-curd-refuse-interfiber polysaccharides asthey are, and after the bean curd refuse is cooked, a matrix ofwater-insoluble fibers (cellulose, hemicellulose) is fixed as well whilethe matrix contains the polysaccharides. Therefore, the bean curd refuseparticles have an increased hardness.

Further, the mere fine milling of bean curd refuse by the above finelymilling treatment is not sufficient for fully increasing the viscosity.That is, even if fine milling treatment is applied, bean curd refuseparticles decrease in size and are dispersed in water in a colloidalstate, and the viscosity increases to some extent due to the hydrophilicstrength of each particle, but they only form a slurry-like viscousmaterial.

The above conventional methods of fine milling bean curd refuse merelytake bean curd refuse as a filler for a food, and attach importance tonot deteriorating the taste of a food to which bean curd refuse isadded, by merely seeking to finely mill the bean curd refuse. However,bean curd refuse contains about 50%, based on its solid content, ofvegetable fibers composed mainly of pectin, and if they can be utilized,bean curd refuse can be converted from a mere filler to a highlyfunctional material for processed food.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide bean curdrefuse not as a mere filler but as a novel material for a processed foodhaving higher functions.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide ahighly functional processed material of bean curd refuse and a processfor the preparation thereof, which material and method simultaneouslyaccomplish the following,

(1) to completely utilize excellent nutrition components of bean curdrefuse by improving the properties of the bean curd refuse itselfinstead of using the bean curd refuse by extracting part of itscomponents,

(2) to retain fibers contained in bean curd refuse particles, as fibers,and to impart processed bean curd refuse with the properties of ahealthy food containing a large amount of vegetable fibers,

(3) to overcome the rough-feeling to the tongue and rough tastecharacteristic of bean curd refuse by improving the properties of thebean curd refuse, so that the utility of the bean curd refuse as a foodmaterial is improved,

(4) to impart the processed material of bean curd refuse with a highviscosity, so that it can be incorporated into other food materialswhile it is in harmony with the properties of these materials, and

(5) to impart the processed material of bean curd refuse with novelphysicochemical properties so that the processed material exhibitsunconventional novel properties.

It is further another object of the present invention to provide amethod of the preparation of a food prepared by using the above highlyfunctional processed material of bean curd refuse.

Studies by the present inventors have revealed that, for converting theprocessed material of bean curd refuse to a material for a highlyfunctional processed food while utilizing the physicochemical propertiesof vegetable fibers such as pectin, etc., it is very important to freewater-soluble polysaccharides in bean curd refuse fibers from the matrixof cellulose and hemicellulose and water-solubilize them. For thispurpose, when the highly functional processed material of bean curdrefuse of the present invention is produced, it is required to carry outhydration-treatment of bean curd refuse so that released water-solublepolysacchalides may bond to sufficient free water.

That is, the present inventors have found that, for the purpose ofreleasing an interfiber substance contained in bean curd refuseparticles, the bean curd refuse particles are beaten by one or acombination of milling, cutting, grinding and crushing means so that thebean curd refuse particles do not retain their particle forms, wherebywater-soluble polysaccharides as the inter-fiber substance are releasedinto water, and these polysaccharides bond to free water in the beancurd refuse to give a highly functional processed material of bean curdrefuse having a high viscosity. And, the present invention has beenaccordingly completed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1(a) is a microscopic photograph showing the structure of bean curdrefuse as a material. FIG. 1(b) is a microscopic photograph showing thestructure of bean curd refuse treated by cutting. Further, FIG. 1(c) isa microscopic photograph showing a processed material of bean curdrefuse of the present invention, obtained by cutting and then millingtreatment.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FOR WORKING THE INVENTION

The processed material of bean curd refuse of the present inventioncomprises a highly viscous liquid containing cut bean curd refuse fibersand water-soluble polysaccharides released from bean curd refuse. Thisprocessed material can be explained as follows while comparing itsmicroscopic photograph and a microscopic photograph of bean curd refuseas a raw material.

FIG. 1(a) is the microscopic photograph of bean curd refuse as amaterial. This FIG. 1(a) shows that fibers constituting bean curd refuseare regularly bundled and that masses containing an inter-fibersubstance and having a size of approximately 500 to 1,000 microns aredispersed therein.

On the other hand, FIG. 1(c) is the microscopic photograph of a highlyfunctional processed material of bean curd refuse of the presentinvention, obtained by beating treatment. This FIG. 1(c) shows that theabove bean curd refuse masses are in a beaten state, that the fiberswhich have constituted the matrix are cut into sizes of approximately100 to 300 microns and irregularly dispersed, and that water-solublepolysaccharides as bean-curd-refuse-interfiber substance are released.Further, it is shown that particles having a diameter of approximately20 to 100 microns (which are considered protein particles insolubilizedby thermal modification during the production of bean curd) are releasedout of the fibers and dispersed.

As described above, the highly functional processed material of beancurd refuse of the present invention is not a material obtained bymerely pulverizing and finely milling bean curd refuse masses, but itcomprises a highly viscous liquid obtained by beating fibers which arein a matrix state, and releasing and hydrating water-solublepolysaccharides which are interfiber substances in the matrix. The term"liquid" should be understood in a wide sense, and it includes a paste,etc. That is, the highly functional processed material of bean curdrefuse of the present invention has a higher water content than it hasbefore processed, and as a result of this hydration treatment, it has animproved viscosity. Further, it has fluidity as one of its properties,and it can be applied to a variety of uses by mixing it with other foodmaterials.

Therefore, the highly functional processed material of bean curd refuseis not necessarily required to be of small particles (about 100 micronsor less), and the object thereof is achieved by beating the particles.That is, the highly functional processed material of bean curd refuse ofthe present invention shows remarkably improved feeling to the tongueeven if it contains remaining fibrous substances having a fiber lengthof 100 to 500 microns after bean curd refuse is beaten.

The paste obtained by the above processing generally has a viscosity ofabout 7 to 15×103 centipoise (room temperature), while it gives aprocessed material having a higher viscosity when subjected to heattreatment such as sterilizing retort treatment or continuous heatingsterilization treatment.

Further, the processed material of the present invention may contain aseasoning and/or an edible oil and a fat as optional components. Theseasoning includes amino acid-containing, nucleic acid-containing andsuccinic acid-containing seasonings. The edible oil and fat includeplant oils (salad oil, palm oil, corn oil, rape-seed oil, safflower oiland sesame-seed oil), butter and hydrogenated fish oil.

According to the present invention, the above processed material of beancurd refuse is produced by any one of the following methods (A) and (B).

Method (A)

A method of the preparation of a processed material of a highly viscousliquid, which comprises hydration-treating bean curd refuse by addingwater, and beating the bean curd refuse while releasing an interfibersubstance to hydrate water-soluble polysaccharides.

Method (B)

A method of the preparation of a processed material of bean curd refuse,which comprises hydration-treating bean curd refuse by optionally addingwater, beating the bean curd refuse to release an interfiber substance,then hydration-treating the bean curd refuse by adding water, andstirring the resultant mixture to hydrate water-soluble polysaccharidesto obtain a highly viscous liquid.

The method (A) will be explained first.

Bean curd refuse is very dry and rough, since the milking ratio is setas high as possible for improving the yield of soybean milk and theamount of free water adhering to the bean curd refuse is small althoughthe water content in the bean curd refuse is high (75 to 85%).

In the method (A), therefore, bean curd refuse is hydration-treated withwater in an amount, for example, of 30 to 400% based on the weight ofthe bean curd refuse to feed free water, and the bean curd refuse isbeaten. This beating treatment is preferably carried out by finelymilling the bean curd refuse and then beating it. The term "finelymilling" refers to decreasing the size of bean curd refuse by cuttingparticles of the bean curd refuse (the term "cutting" has a wide conceptincluding crushing in addition to the cutting in a narrow sense).Further, the term "beating treatment" refers to destroying the form ofbean curd refuse by milling (the term "milling" has a wide conceptincluding "grinding", etc., in addition to the milling in a narrowsense) so that interfiber water-soluble polysaccharides are releasedfrom a matrix of water-insoluble fibers. That is, water-solublepolysaccharides which are interfiber substances are released by thisbeating treatment, and bond to (hydrated by) added free water to give ahighly functional processed material of bean curd refuse of the presentinvention which comprises a highly viscous liquid.

The above will be explained with reference to drawings. When bean curdrefuse as a raw material shown in FIG. 1(a) is treated by cutting, thebean curd refuse is brought into a state as shown in FIG. 1(b) in whichthe length of fibers is decreased to approximately 1/4 to 1/2 of theiroriginal length while the fibers nearly retain their regularity, most ofthe interfiber substances remain, and they are partially released out ofthe fibers.

Then, when the bean curd refuse is milled, as shown in FIG. 1(c), thereis obtained the highly functional processed material of bean curd refuseof the present invention, which comprises a highly viscous liquidcontaining fibers which are cut and beaten and free of regularity, andwater-soluble polysaccharides released from the bean curd refuse fibers.

The above explains the method of consecutively carrying out the cuttingof fibers by the finely milling treatment and the beating treatmentintended for releasing the intra-fiber substance, while the cutting,milling and beating may be carried out at the same time, and in thiscase, similar effects can be also obtained.

The method (B) will be explained hereinafter. This method (B) differsfrom the method (A) only in that, in the method (B), a substantialamount of water is added after the beating treatment and the hydrationtreatment is carried out to feed free water. That is, in the method (B),no water is added, or water in an amount of, for example, less than 30%of the weight of bean curd refuse is added before the beating treatment,and water in an amount of 30 to 400% of the weight of a bean curd refuseis added after the beating treatment. In the method (B) as well,water-soluble polysaccharides released from the bean curd refuse fibersbonds to free water to give a processed material of bean curd refusecomprising a highly viscous liquid.

Further, bean curd refuse having a high water content is prepared bydecreasing the soybean milking ratio for the purpose of obtaining ahighly functional processed material of bean curd refuse, and beaten tohydrate water-soluble polysaccharides, whereby similar effects can beproduced.

Examples of the high functions of the processed material of bean curdrefuse of the present invention will be explained hereinafter.

First, the processed material of bean curd refuse of the presentinvention exhibits excellent properties as batter for fried foods.

That is, when proper amounts of water and flour are added to theprocessed material of bean curd refuse of the present invention, thereis obtained a batter liquid excellent in parting from an oil as is notexpected from any commercially available premixed batter. When a friedfood is cooked with this batter liquid by a conventional method, therecan be obtained a food which is excellent in the clear and crunchyfeeling characteristic of a fried food and excellent in taste.

As described above, it is very specific that the processed material ofbean curd refuse of the present invention has the property of showing ahigh viscosity at room temperature and showing a decreased viscosity orlosing the viscosity when cooked under heat, and this is why theprocessed material of bean curd refuse of the present invention has highfunctions. The processed material of bean curd refuse of the presentinvention also exhibits the above characteristic property when used forother foods cooked with an oil such as tempura, fritters and mustardlotus root (karashi renkon), and these foods are similarly excellent inthe feeling to the mouth and the taste.

As the second example in which the processed material of bean curdrefuse of the present invention exhibits high functions, there is thepreparation of noodles. When a proper amount of the processed materialof bean curd refuse of the present invention is added during thepreparation of boil-cooking noodles or steam-cooking noodles,, there areobtained remarkable effects that the noodles are well disentangled, thatthe taste is excellent and that the elasticity is maintained while thenoodles give the sense of softness. Moreover, there is also a fillereffect. Further, there is an effect that it improves cooked noodles to agreat extent in the elongation (aging) which is a large problem tocooked noodles, and the noodles are almost free from breaking into smallpieces when cooked. There can be therefore provided noodles suitable fornoodles cooked in broth.

As the third example in which the processed material of bean curd refuseof the present invention, there are panbroiled or baked foods such as aChinese meat dumpling, a pizza, a meat or seafood and vegetable pancakeand a crepe. When a proper amount of the processed material of bean curdrefuse of the present invention containing an edible oil is added whenthe above foods are prepared, there can be obtained foods which arealmost free of browning or browning to excess without treating cookingutensils with an oil. In this case, it is not required to add otheremulsifier at the time of adding an edible oil or fat, since theprocessed material of bean curd refuse of the present invention has theemulsifying capability itself, which is also one of the functions of theprocessed material of bean curd refuse of the present invention.

Further, the processed material of bean curd refuse of the presentinvention has the effect of improving the feeling to the mouth and thefiller effect when a proper amount of it is added for the preparation ofbaked confectionery such as a cracker, a biscuit, a cookie, a ricecracker, pastry and a bun, food pastes such as boiled fish paste, bakedfoods such as bread, frozen confections such as ice cream, ice candy andsherbet and steamed foods such as a bun with a bean-jam filling and asteamed Chinese pork dumpling wrapped in a thin flour-and-water pancake.

Further, the processed material of bean curd refuse of the presentinvention is useful as a filler having good taste for a croquette andbean-jam.

The present invention will be further explained hereinafter withreference to Examples.

EXAMPLE 1

Water in an amount of 1 liter was added to 500 g of fresh bean curdrefuse (water content 78%), and the mixture was cut and milled with abiolizer(supplied by Nippon Seiki K.K.) at 10,000 rpm for about 1 hourto give a highly functional processed material (1) of bean curd refusehaving cut fibers having an average length of 60 microns and having aviscosity of 15×10³ centipoise (25° C.).

EXAMPLE 2

A concentrated natural amino acid seasoning (amino acid content 32%) inan amount of 10 ml and 30 ml of an edible oil (salad oil) were added tothe processed material (1) of bean curd refuse obtained in Example 1,and the mixture was further milled for 15 minutes to give a processedmaterial (2) of bean curd refuse of the present invention.

EXAMPLE 3

Water in an amount of 20 liters was added to, and mixed with, 100 kg offresh bean curd refuse (water content 78%), and the mixture was treatedwith a Masukolloider(supplied by Masuko K.K.) twice. And, 180 liters ofwater having a temperature of 80° C. was added to the resultant masshaving the form of a rice cake, and the mixture was stirred with a DCstirrer to give a processed material (3) of bean curd refuse of thepresent invention having cut fibers having an average fiber length of200 microns and having a viscosity of 60×10 centipoise (25° C.).

EXAMPLE 4

Water in an amount of 40 liters was added to, and mixed with, 40 kg offresh bean curd refuse (water content 78%), and the mixture was treatedwith a Masukolloider twice to give a processed material (4) of bean curdrefuse of the present invention containing cut fibers having an averagefiber length of 230 microns and having a viscosity of 48×10³ centipoise(25° C.).

EXAMPLE 5

A concentrated liquid amino acid seasoning in an amount of 1 kg wasadded to, and mixed with, 10 kg of the processed material (4) of beancurd refuse obtained in Example 4. Plastic containers were charged with2 kg of the mixture each, sealed and treated with a retort sterilizer at123° C. for 20 minutes to give a processed material (5) of bean curdrefuse of the present invention having a viscosity of 138×10³ centipoise(25° C.).

EXAMPLE 6

Water in an amount of 50 liters was added to, and mixed with, 100 kg offresh bean curd refuse (water content 80%), and the mixture waspulverized with a high-speed cutting machine (supplied by German StephenGmbH) to prepare a slurry containing fibrous masses having a size of 150to 500 microns. And, 46 liters of water was further added to 140 g ofthis slurry, and the mixture was treated with a Maskolloider once togive a processed material (6) of bean curd refuse of the presentinvention containing cut fibers having an average fiber length of 260microns and having a viscosity of 25×10³ centipoise (20° C.).

EXAMPLE 7

A liquid palm oil in an amount of 10 kg was added to 150 kg of theprocessed material (6) of bean curd refuse obtained in Example 6, andthese materials were uniformly mixed with each other with a mixer. Theresultant uniform mixture was treated with a continuous sterilizer at140° C. to give a processed material (7) of bean curd refuse of thepresent invention having a viscosity of 39×10³ centipoise (20° C.).

Food Preparation Example 1 (Fried Prawns)

Water in an amount of 140 milliliters and 30 g of flour (weak flour)were added to, and uniformly mixed with, 200 g of the processed materialof bean curd refuse (5) obtained in Example 5, to prepare a batterliquid. Headless shell-removed "black tiger" prawns were treated withflour and immersed in the above batter liquid, and coated with flour. Inthis case, the prawns were intimately coated with a sufficient amount ofthe flour. Then, the coated prawns were treated in oil at 180° C. for 3minutes to give fried prawns (A).

The above-obtained fried prawns were sensory-tested by six panelers forcolor tone, feeling to the mouth and taste. This test was carried out onthe basis of the comparison of the above fried prawns with fried prawnsprepared, as standard food (S), by treating the same prawns as the abovewith flour, immersing them in an egg liquid, coating them with flour andtreating them in oil under the same conditions. Table 1 shows theresults. For comparison, further, the same sensory test was effected onfried prawns (B) obtained by treating prawns with flour, immersing themin a batter composition prepared by dispersing a commercially availablebatter mix (containing natural flour paste) in water according to itsinstructions, coating them with flour and treating them in oil under thesame conditions. Table 1 also shows the results of this test.

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                        Fried  Batter              Feeling to                                         prawns composition                                                                             Color Tone                                                                              to the mouth                                                                           Taste                                     ______________________________________                                        (S)    Egg liquid                                                                              Standard  Standard Standard                                  Standard         color     feeling to                                                                             taste                                                                the mouth                                          (A)    Batter com-                                                                             Close     Crunchier                                                                              Far more                                         position of                                                                             to (S) (4)                                                                              than (S) (4)                                                                           delicious                                        Preparation                                                                             Denser    Nearly   than (S) (5)                                     Example 1 than (S) (2)                                                                            equal to (S) (2)                                                                       Nearly                                                                        equal to (S) (1)                          (B)    Commer-   Denser    Nearly   (S) is more                                      cially avail-                                                                           than (S) (5)                                                                            equal to (S) (2)                                                                       delicious (3)                                    able batter                                                                             Far denser                                                                              Softer   Nearly                                           composition                                                                             than (S) (1)                                                                            than (S) (4)                                                                           equal to (S) (3)                          ______________________________________                                    

As is clear from Table 1, fried prawns (A) obtained by incorporating theprocessed material (5) of bean curd refuse of the present invention wereequivalent to, or excellent over, the fried prawns (S) obtained byincorporating the egg liquid, in the color tone, feeling to the mouthand taste, and much superior to the fried prawns (B) obtained byincorporating the commercially available batter composition.

Food Preparation Example 2 (Croquette)

Water in an amount of 250 milliliters and 20 g of flour (weak flour)were added to, and uniformly mixed with, 200 g of the processed material(5) of bean curd refuse obtained in Example 5, to prepare a batterliquid. 540 Grams of the processed material (5) of bean curd refuse and100 g of dry mashed potatoes were kneaded with a mixer for 5 minutes,and then, minced carrot (30 g), onion (40 g) and salt (4 g) were added.The resultant mass was mixed for 2 minutes, and then shaped into piecesin the form of a croquette. These pieces were immersed in the abovebatter liquid, coated with flour and treated in oil at 175° C. for 4minutes.

In this case, the croquettes themselves did not go under the oil duringthe treatment in oil, and it was remarkably well to cook them. Theoil-treated croquettes were light brownish and crunchy to the mouth andtasted good. These croquettes gave almost no change in the feeling tothe mouth and tasted good after allowed to stand at room temperature for3 hours.

Food Preparation Example 3 (Boiled noodles)

500 Grams of the processed material (5) of bean curd refuse wasdispersed in 1.75 kg of salt water containing 250 g of salt, and thedispersion was added to 12.5 kg of flour (medium flour). The resultantmass was mixed with a mixer at room temperature for 10 minutes. Then,the mass was subjected to a roll method noodle-dough-making apparatusand three-stage finished to give a rolled flat dough. The dough was agedby allowing it at room temperature for 1 hour, and then cut with a No.10 blade to give raw noodles.

The above-obtained raw noodles were immersed in boiling water for 22minutes, and washed with cold water to give 33.4 kg of boiled noodles(A).

As a control, boiled noodles (S) were prepared in the same manner asabove except that no processed material of bean curd refuse was addedand that the time for boiling was changed to 18 minutes. These boilednoodles (S) had a weight of 29.8 kg. A clear filler effect was thereforerecognized when the highly functional processed material of bean curdrefuse of the present invention was added. Further, the noodles (A)containing the highly functional processed material of bean curd refuseof the present invention were found to have various improvements in thefeeling to the mouth, such as giving the sense of sweetness and softnessas compared with the noodles (S) prepared for a control, and yet,maintaining elasticity and exhibiting the clear sense of parting fromthe teeth. Further, the noodles (A) were also found to be disentangledfar more easily than (S).

Food Preparation Example 4 (Ice cream)

20 Grams of a skim milk powder, 42 g of soft shortening, 65 g of sugarand a proper amount of vanilla essence were added to 230 g of theprocessed material (4) of bean curd refuse obtained in Example 4, andwhile the mixture was stirred, it was heated to 65° C. Further, themixture was kneaded with an electric mixer for 5 minutes to obtain auniform paste. The paste was flown into an angled container of stainlesssteel and allowed to stand at -20° C. for 2 hours while it wasintermittently stirred, to give ice cream.

The above ice cream was free from giving the sense of roughness and wassmooth to the tongue.

Food Preparation Example 5 (White bean-paste ball)

Dry mashed potato in an amount of 1 kg was added to 5.4 g of theprocessed material (4) of bean curd refuse obtained in Example 4, andthe mixture was uniformly kneaded. Then, 3 kg of a white raw bean-pastebase and 6 kg of an invert sugar liquid were added to the above kneadedproduct, and the mixture was boiled down, and kneaded to give whitebean-paste balls. These white bean-paste balls were clear in color,smooth and excellent in maintaining their form.

Food Preparation Example 6 (Crepe)

Water in an amount of 100 milliliters, 40 g of flour, one egg and aproper amount of salt were added to, and uniformly mixed with, 100 g ofthe processed material (7) of bean curd refuse obtained in Example 7,and the mixture was baked on a hot plate of iron to prepare crepe. Theabove mixture was excellent in extendibility on the plate of iron andshowed no browning when the baking finished. Further, it was with thesense of softness to the mouth and full of elasticity.

As explained above, according to the present invention, there isprovided a highly functional processed material of bean curd refuse anda process for the production thereof. When the processed material ofbean curd refuse of the present invention is used for the preparation ofvarious foods, there can be obtained foods excellent in the taste, thefeeling to the mouth, the color tone, etc., owing to its highlyfunctional performances.

We claim:
 1. A processed material of bean curd refuse, which comprises ahighly viscous liquid containing cut bean curd refuse fibers andwater-soluble polysaccharides released from bean curd refuse.
 2. A foodproduct comprising the processed material of claim
 1. 3. The processedmaterial of bean curd refuse according to claim 1, wherein the processedmaterial further contains a seasoning and/or an edible oil or fat.
 4. Afood product comprising the processed material of claim
 3. 5. A methodof the preparation of a processed material of a highly viscous liquidfrom bean curd refuse, which comprises(1) adding water to said bean curdrefuse in an amount of 30 to 400% by weight based upon the weight of thebean curd refuse, and then (2) beating the bean curd refuse therebyreleasing an interfiber substance composed of water-solublepolysaccharides and hydrating said water-soluble polysaccharides.
 6. Amethod for the preparation of a highly functional processed material ofa highly viscous liquid, which comprises(1) optionally adding water tobean curd refuse, then beating the bean curd refuse to release aninterfiber substance composed of water-soluble polysaccharides and (2)adding water to said interfiber substance in an amount of 30 to 400% byweight based upon the weight of the bean curd refuse to obtain a highlyviscous liquid and to hydrate said water-soluble polysaccharides.